Perhaps, my second favorite Julia Quinn heroine, next to Penelope Featherington, is her best friend, Eloise Bridgerton. In "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton," Eloise realized that after Penelope and Colin got married, she won't have her former spinster friend with her anymore to enjoy "blessed singlehood." In the next Bridgerton installment, "To Sir Phillip, With Love" we discover who Eloise has been corresponding with -the husband of their late cousin. It started when Eloise wrote a sympathy letter to Sir Phillip when she heard their cousin died. Then, Sir Phillip responded, until their correspondences developed into friendship, which led Sir Phillip to propose to Eloise!

Sir Phillip proposed to Eloise thinking that she was the typical spinster and so conveniently solving his problems in finding a "permanent" governess for his two children and a companion who will be there but not distract him from his first love: botany. He did not expect Eloise to really respond immediately; he did not even expect Eloise to arrive in his doorstep. Sir Phillip was not only shocked to find Eloise unannounced in his home but she was not his picture of a homely spinster, Eloise was beautiful, smart, tough, and talks to distraction. His first reaction was to shut her up with a deep, passionate kiss.

I can't wait to read this follow up to "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton" and I was not disappointed. There were some dark moments there in the book but Eloise is such a strong and positive heroine, she shines through most of those moments. Plus, the appearance of the gorgeous Bridgerton brothers to "rescue" Eloise should not be missed.

The eldest Bridgerton brother, Viscount Anthony Bridgerton takes his responsibilities as head of the family quite seriously, but this did not stop him from enjoying life to the fullest, especially when it comes to women! This earned him a rakish reputation and when it came time for him to find a bride, his candidate was no other than Edwina Sheffield --smart, beautiful and the Season's Incomparable. But Anthony's attempts at courtship kept getting foiled by Edwina's older sister, Kate. Kate is not as beautiful as Edwina; but she is a woman of strong character, and stronger determination to protect her younger sister from the clutches of the rakish viscount. Anthony is equally determined to pursue Edwina, but to his dismay, Kate is the one who occupies his thoughts....and might also occupy his heart.

Another enjoyable addition to the Bridgerton stories, "The Viscount Who Loved Me" is great in the moments you expect but if you cound empathize with Anthony's fear of bees, you're in for another Quinn-tessential read!

Perhaps Penelope Featherington is the ancestor of the loser-heroine who finally got the best of the bunch! Sure, Anthony and Benedict Bridgerton are both handsome, charismatic, rich and gorgeous but the best of the Bridgerton men is Colin. Why? He has a very good sense of humor, totally cool and totally clueless that his one match in all the world is just the one person he never thought he would want to marry: his sister's best friend Penelope Featherington. Penelope started out as an awkward teenager who is used to being a wallflower, who is usually rescued by the Bridgerton brothers from embarrassment in all the balls, and who secretly loves Colin Bridgerton.

Colin might be clueless in how Penelope felt about him and how he felt for her but his feelings developed in a realistic way. He came to appreciate Penelope not only for her looks but also for her intellect, her wit, her personality --now how many men in this lifetime still has this trait? "Romancing Mr. Bridgerton" is a must read for people who still believe that love is not only skin deep.

The Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn is one of my most favorite books to read over and over again; this time, the second Bridgerton brother Benedict met his match in Sophie Beckett, the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Penwood. This is a charming retelling of the Cinderella story but the focus here is more on the Prince Charming --Benedict. Benedict met Sophie in his mother's annual masked ball but he did not know it was Sophie because of her mask. He was immediately smitten and intrigued; while Sophie did the "run at midnight" but without the glass slipper. Benedict never forgot the lady in silver as what he started calling Sophie in his mind. He searched for her in vain. Then one night, he met a woman who aroused the same feeling as the lady in silver, the woman was Sophie Beckett whom Benedict rescued from a lecherous employer.

Benedict fell in love with Sophie, and yet he kept thinking of the lady he met in the masked ball. Sophie cannot bring herself to tell Benedict that she was the lady he met in the masked ball. This might be a true and tried story but leave it to Ms. Julia Quinn to throw in some twists that might not leave you at the edge of your seat but will make you satisfied at the ending.

The first installment of the Bridgerton series focuses on the eldest Bridgerton sister, Daphne. This is an emotional joy ride in how Simon Bassett, the Duke of Hastings found true love with Daphne Bridgerton. Simon grew up motherless, rejected by his father, and with a speech impediment to boot --he stutters. He overcame this impediment but it still comes out especially in times of great emotional strain.

Simon met Daphne when he rescued her from an obssessed suitor. The Duke just came back from living abroad and found out that Mamas with marriageable daughters kept hounding him; whereas Daphne needed to raise her marriage desirability among the eligible bachelors of the ton. So they struck a deal, they will announce a sham engagement. Of course, once the proposals started pouring in for Daphne, Simon thought that the sham engagement must be turned into a real one. And before anyone could say "Duke of Hastings," they were married.

Daphne found bliss and happiness in Simon's arms, and wants to start a family; but Simon's painful childhood is blocking the way to their total happiness.

"The Duke and I" started off lighthearted but it has moments where you truly feel for the characters. I like Daphne's strength and her determination to pull Simon out of the dark remembrance of his past.

At first, it was curiosity that led me to get "Dreaming of You." After reading the story of tortured hero Derek Craven and well-bred writer Sara Fielding, I must say that Derek is truly unforgettable. It is unusual, if not original, to find a hero in romantic fiction who was dirt poor and did some truly atrocious deeds to build his gambling empire. Yet, despite his questionable deeds, we are shown in this story that when Derek found himself falling for Sara Fielding, he acted more honorably than his aristocratic counterparts.

Sara is also a strong heroine whose love and generosity of heart led the way for Derek to reclaim his soul. "Dreaming of You" by Lisa Kleypas is destined to be a classic.

One gloomy afternoon, I found myself reading "Splendid" by Julia Quinn and I forgot how gloomy the day was. That is how I felt about Alex and Emma's story. Alex Ridgely, Duke of Ashbourne, was London's most elusive bachelor; this was due to the duke's vow not to be trapped by women who were just enamoured of his title and wealth. Enter strong willed American beauty, Emma Dunster, whose rescue of Alex's nephew set the stage for the start of their passionate romance.

As Alex finds himself falling hard for Emma, his stubborn hold for his vow seemed kind of silly in some part of the story especially when Emma was telling him about her cousin Ned's problem and Alex did not even let her finish but jumped to his own conclusion. But this little quirk is negligible since the entire story was truly an enjoyable read.

Julia Quinn's "Splendid" features Alex, the dashingly roguish Duke of Ashbourne and Emma, the flame-haired American beauty who captured the duke's heart and soul. I loved the way Ms. Quinn kept her characters appearing in some of the other series, like Alex, who was briefly mentioned in one of the Bridgerton books. Although, "Splendid" was published before the Bridgerton series, the story of Alex and Emma happened later than the Bridgerton stories.

Alex was determined not to fall for the American beauty whose escapades included rescuing her cousin Ned and earned her Alex's grudging respect not to mention arouse his possessive nature. This book truly entertains and delivers another Quinn classic.

My first foray in the Regency Romance genre is reading mostly Jane Austen's work; and then, I moved on to Julia Quinn who led me to another exemplary romance writer of modern times, Ms. Lisa Kleypas. "Again the Magic," the forbidden story of love between stable hand John Mckenna and Lady Aline Marsden somewhat reminds me of Heathcliff and Catherine of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," without the much of the cathartic sadness of the latter.
Aline and Mckenna's youthful romance turned into a bitter and painful end when Aline's father discovered their relationship. Mckenna was sent away but not before Aline shattered his dreams of love; she did what she thought was right to save his life. Aline might have saved his life but this made Mckenna into a hard-driving bitter man who vowed vengeance on his once true love.

The story has a lot of true passionate moments where you can really feel the love that Mckenna still has for Lady Aline. I have more sympathy for Mckenna and could not really comprehend Lady Aline's misguided efforts to protect him from her little secret. Nowhere is the saying "the road to good intentions is paved with evil," truer or nearer than in this book.

Overall, a very enjoyable read from Ms. Kleypas.

My first foray in the Regency Romance genre is reading mostly Jane Austen's work; and then, I moved on to Julia Quinn who led me to another exemplary romance writer of modern times, Ms. Lisa Kleypas. "Again the Magic," the forbidden story of love between stable hand John Mckenna and Lady Aline Marsden somewhat reminds me of Heathcliff and Catherine of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," without the much of the cathartic sadness of the latter.

Aline and Mckenna's youthful romance turned into a bitter and painful end when Aline's father discovered their relationship. Mckenna was sent away but not before Aline shattered his dreams of love; she did what she thought was right to save his life. Aline might have saved his life but this made Mckenna into a hard-driving bitter man who vowed vengeance on his once true love.

The story has a lot of true passionate moments where you can really feel the love that Mckenna still has for Lady Aline. I have more sympathy for Mckenna and could not really comprehend Lady Aline's misguided efforts to protect him from her little secret. Nowhere is the saying "the road to good intentions is paved with evil," truer or nearer than in this book.

Overall, a very enjoyable read from Ms. Kleypas.